


Let's Hear it for the Boy

by random_pairings_50113



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Footloose AU, Human AU, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Lots of dancing, Matt too, Past Abuse, Sunset watching, The End, Tyler's a bit of an idiot, actually not as much as you'd expect in a footloose AU but ok, best to be safe, but still, everyone's a human, i hate tagging can you tell, just a warning in case it triggers anyone, only a minor mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 09:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10487985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/random_pairings_50113/pseuds/random_pairings_50113
Summary: Mystic Falls is reeling from a tragic crash, in which five of its brightest teenagers were killed. As a result, there are laws to say that dancing - and parties, and alcohol, and that other immoral good stuff - is illegal. Stefan Salvatore wants to change that all. Especially if it means getting Caroline Forbes her senior prom.AKA this is a Footloose AU except there's not actually a lot of dancing





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello here i am again with another fic except this time i have finished it all in one day  
> Praise be  
> I was watching footloose (the new one so if you're confused by some of the stuff happening, that's probably why) and decided i hated Julianne Hough, but Steroline would absolutely fit the mechanic/'bad-but-actually-good-boy' and good-girl-who-can-also-be-not-good-and-wears-summer-dresses trope so here we are  
> Kill me   
> Basic info: no vampires. Stefan has never been to Mystic Falls before. Don't ask who he's living with because I couldn't be bothered thinking who it could be. Had to make Matt and Tyler bad to fit with the storyline from the film, where she's dating an abusive pile of crap, although actually they both sort of bugged me in tvd so I'm not so cut up about making them the bad guys. Don't think there's much else to say?

There were a lot of weird things about Mystic Falls, and Stefan was learning a new odd thing every minute. Barely even twenty-four hours into his arrival, he had been pulled over for playing loud music in his car down a country lane. The principal glowered at every person he passed in the corridors and snapped at anyone so much as holding a pencil when they shouldn’t be. There was a shrine for a group of kids in the gym who had died a couple of years ago and no one talked about them. The preacher at the local church condemned anything that vaguely passed as teenage behaviour. Everyone seemed to be tiptoeing around something that no one wanted to talk about, and it creeped him out.

Damon didn’t seem so bothered by it, but then again he wasn’t bothered by much these days. Not since their mom had passed.

There were ups to Mystic Falls, too. Especially in the form of Elena Gilbert. She was all smiles and big, doe eyes that lit up whenever they landed on him. She was the first genuine person he’d talked to in a while, and there was just something about her; she seemed to understand exactly what he was going through, even without him having to actually talk to her about it. Caroline said it was because her parents had died not so long ago, so she understood a little something about grief.

Caroline was another good thing about Mystic Falls. When he’d first seen her, Elena’s bubbly blonde friend who seemed to always be wearing her cheerleader uniform and a large varsity jacket, he’d dismissed her as another airhead. But she was a genuine person who knew the town like the back of her hand and made it her goal to show him every little cranny in order to make him feel as at home as he could. It was nice to have found a genuine friend again, even if she was nothing like his usual sort of friend. She wasn’t sombre like Elena; she was always trying to make him smile. It was a nice little contrast.

There was Bonnie, too, who was nice but didn’t seem to like him so much. Then there was Tyler, Caroline’s boyfriend, who was always hovering over her shoulder or making some lewd joke at someone else’s expense. Vicki, who was tied up with Elena’s brother Jeremy, and always had a joint in her hand and a distant look in her eyes. They were an odd bunch, and Stefan usually liked to be alone, but from the first day when Elena had introduced herself, he hadn’t been able to have that luxury. And, oddly, he liked it.

So even though Mystic Falls was a little weird, and a little scary, it was a good start for the two of them. It was a good place to move on.

But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, its quirks were a little hard to ignore.

“They don’t allow dancing? Like, not even school dances?”

He and Caroline were in the school parking lot way after hours, watching the sun setting across the empty lot. Cheer practice had just finished, along with football practice (which Stefan had been bullied into doing), so Stefan had offered her a lift home. Then they’d stopped to watch the sunset, and Stefan had asked about the weird town laws.

“Not even prom,” Caroline sighed. “I’ve been looking forward to senior prom all my life, and then they took it away from me. Anyway, why do you care?” She turned to face him with a grin. The setting sun was lighting up her face and she was oddly difficult to look at. Her whole being seemed to be shining. “Do we have a budding dancer in our midst?”

Stefan leaned back against his car bonnet and laughed. “Not quite,” he admitted. “I despise the idea of prom. But I do think it’s a necessary evil.”

Caroline gasped in mock shock. “Evil?” she echoed with a giggle. “How _dare_ you? Prom was my life!”

“So the ban doesn’t bother you?” Stefan wondered.

“Of course it bothers me,” Caroline said, crossing her arms with a huff. “There’s just nothing I can do about it.”

Stefan frowned. “Not even if your mother’s the Sheriff?”

“My mom’s never seen the benefit of dances and proms,” Caroline said with disdain, as though she could think of no worse outlook to have on life. “She never got my obsession. She never opposed the law, and I doubt she ever will.”

Stefan turned back to face the view in front of them. “That sucks,” he mused, clearly deep in thought.

“Are you thinking of rebelling against the law all for senior prom?” Caroline joked after a long silence.

“Not rebelling,” Stefan said slowly. “A petition maybe?”

Caroline stared at him slack-jawed. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” he said as though it was obvious. “Are you in?”

“Of course!” she exclaimed. “But … why are you doing this? You already said you hate prom.”

“Yeah,” Stefan nodded. “But I know it’s important to some other people. How would you live out your crazy, control freak prom without me?”

Caroline laughed and shoved an elbow into his side. “Shut up! You just want an excuse to get close to Elena.”

Stefan suddenly sobered up. He looked at his feet. “Yeah,” he said for a third time, but this time it didn’t sound genuine. “Sure.”

Caroline picked up on it immediately. “You can’t already be having relationship trouble. You’ve been dating for, like, a week.”

“Not dating technically,” Stefan reminded her. He was silent for a moment as he considered whether to tell her or not. But her face was so open and genuine with concern, that he felt like he had to. “I just … feel like she’d rather spend time with my brother.”

“No!” Caroline practically shouted. “Not … not … _Damon_.”

“I know you don’t really like him, for whatever reason, but Damon is actually a nice guy,” Stefan said. His face betrayed his true feelings – he was trying not to smile at her.

“I just … you and Elena are special,” Caroline protested. “You’re meant to be. And Damon’s clearly the bad guy.”

“Just because he wears leather all the time,” Stefan laughed. “This isn’t a rom com. But she likes him and I can tell he likes her, so … what can I do?”

“Well I’ll help you with your petition,” Caroline said decisively. “And your lawlessness. If only so that Elena can go with you instead of Damon, and show you who she actually likes. It’s you, I’m sure.”

“Deal,” Stefan said, holding out a hand. “And we can see if Tyler will help us, see if he really cares about what you want.”

Caroline shook his hand. “Don’t expect much from Tyler,” she warned. “He barely makes an effort for the things he likes, never mind what I care about. And definitely not prom.”

“Well,” Stefan grinned. “I suppose we’ll see, won’t we?”

* * *

They got to work almost immediately. They met up after school at the Mystic Grill, and discussed the finer points of the laws over fries and burgers. Elena and Bonnie tagged along, but they weren’t as into it as Stefan and Caroline. Bonnie had never been the kind of girl to care about prom, and Elena hadn’t put much thought into it after her parents’ death. Collectively, they tried to explain it as best they could.

“So there was an accident a couple years back,” Caroline explained. There was an uncomfortable twinge to her voice, and she was wringing her hands together under the sleeves of her giant jacket. “A group of seniors crashed on the way home from a dance, and they all died. So they put in some laws.”

“No public dancing, or drinking, or anything of that sort of thing,” Elena rattled off on her fingers. “There’s a curfew of ten o’clock – I think that’s about it, right?”

“Right,” Bonnie agreed between fries. “There’s a church-approved dance every year or so, but that’s about it. And at one point, you _have_ to dance with one of your parents. Like, it’s the law.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “It’s not actually the law,” she chided. “Well, that last part isn’t. Who would I dance with, a wall? The rest of it is, though.”

Stefan stopped himself from asking about her parents. Her mother, he knew, was the town’s sheriff and so very busy and very distant. She never mentioned her father, though, and he didn’t want to ask, scared that they weren’t that close yet.

“So,” Stefan said. “It was just this one accident that made them pass all these laws?”

“Yeah,” Bonnie said. “But, I mean, it was pretty awful. Those guys were all people we knew. Lot of top-of-the-class seniors who had scholarships and were the apple of the town’s eye. Well, except…”

None of them bothered to finish what Bonnie had started, and Stefan didn’t want to ask from the way that they were all resolutely looking away from Caroline.

“And there’s nothing we can do against it?” he asked. “Has anyone tried?”

“No,” Caroline said exasperatedly. “I mean, I had to fight my ass off to get them to allow me to continue cheerleading, but I don’t think that counts.”

“That totally counts!” Stefan exclaimed. “Cheerleading is dancing, right?”

Caroline smiled at him. It was the first time she had looked up at him since they had started speaking about everything. “Right,” she agreed. “It totally is. So, I had to petition them directly, and like quote from the Bible and stuff. And I got my mom to back me up, obviously. They all saw it as school spirit in the end. And I think they felt sorry for me, so there’s that.”

“So we arrange another petition,” Stefan suggested. “But, a written one. Get everyone to sign it. Parents, teachers, kids. Everyone thinks it’s stupid, they’re just waiting for someone to speak out about it.”

Caroline nodded. “It could work,” she said. “You’ll need the Bible on your side, so I can get on that. And me, for the pity vote. And-“

“Wait,” Stefan interrupted, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Why would you get the pity vote?”

Caroline shifted uncomfortably, clearly realising that she had said too much. Elena reached across to take her hand. But Bonnie just sighed.

“Caroline’s boyfriend Matt was driving the car,” she said flatly. “The one that crashed.”

“Oh,” Stefan said, feeling very foolish all of a sudden. “Care, I’m sorry.”

Caroline sniffed. “No, it’s fine. You didn’t know, and – well, it’s fine. It was a while ago.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” he said earnestly. He looked directly at her. “I’m really sorry.”

Caroline smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m fine, really. So, what’s the plan?”

The plan was to be as discreet as possible whilst also gathering as much support as they could; so, in short, it was impossible. Stefan and Caroline met every lunch, and most times after school, to put together the details. They printed flyers, read up on the basics of law, selected passages from the Bible, and Caroline taught him extensively about the background of the major players; the sheriff, the preacher, the mayor and the principal.

The reaction was overwhelmingly in favour of them. Everywhere they went in school, or just walking through town, someone would approach them and ask to sign their petition. But there was still a lot of backlash.

“You can’t blame them,” Caroline said to him as a group of school kids ripped their flyers down from a hallway. “They’ve been told for years that all this stuff is awful, that it leads to death. When adults tell you something long enough, you start to believe it. No matter how fun it might seem.”

Still, the progress kept going, until they had over two thousand signatures. Kids, teachers, store clerks, gas station attendants … everyone wanted to sign it. But they weren’t making any headway with any of the council, and another meeting wasn’t going to be held until during the summer – by which time, the time for senior prom would be passed.

“I have a proposition,” their history teacher, Alaric Saltzman, said to them one day on their way out of his class. He waited until everyone else was gone, and spoke quietly. “I talked to a couple of teachers, and some parents, and they said we’d be willing to host a senior prom. It’d have to be out of town, of course, but only just. You know the falls? They’re just out of the town boundary, and we know someone willing to lend us a marquee for the night. You get the speakers and a DJ, and spread the word, and we’re good.”

Caroline beamed. Stefan had never seen her so happy in her life. “Thank you, Mr Saltzman!” she squealed. “It really means a lot!”

From that moment on, Caroline was more absorbed in planning senior prom than handing out flyers. She still helped him, but she was so focused that Stefan barely ever asked it of her. He knew how much senior prom meant to her, and she was so dedicated in making it absolutely perfect. He was perfectly fine with running things by himself for a while, especially after manging to convince Damon that getting rid of the law would somehow make him a hero to Elena. Stefan saw the lingering ways in which they looked at each other; the stolen glances and whispered giggles. He knew they both liked each other. He just wished Elena would tell him, so he didn’t feel so played.

The prom date was set. Everyone had their dates sorted, and their colour coordination organised. The night scheduled was supposed to clear and warm and perfect for an outdoor prom. It was going to be perfect. Everything was going smoothly.

Then Caroline dropped off the face of the earth.

“I haven’t seen her for two days,” Bonnie told him the Monday before prom. Her face was creased in worry; it was the most he’d ever seen her show emotion. “Elena told me not to worry about it – but I am. Her mom hasn’t seen her, she didn’t answer when I went round.”

Stefan hadn’t seen her either, and she hadn’t answered any of his messages, but he had just assumed that she had been too busy. He felt a little stupid now. “When was the last time you spoke to her?”

“She was going over to Tyler’s Friday night,” Bonnie said. “I don’t … I never liked Tyler. But he was Matt’s best friend, and he wasn’t always such an ass. He took the loss hard, I think. I’m just … I’m worried about her. I think you might be the only person who can reach her.”

“I’ll try,” Stefan promised.

He skipped first period and drove straight to Caroline’s. He knocked hard on the door and waited. There was a blur of movement upstairs, but no one came to the door. Maybe he was just being insensitive. Maybe it was the anniversary of Matt’s death, and she wanted to mourn alone? He had no idea when the accident had actually happened.

The Sheriff answered when he knocked the second time, which was odd enough. From what he had heard, Liz Forbes was barely ever not at work.

“Can I help you?” she asked. She looked shaken and pale. Very worried.

“I’m Stefan Salvatore,” he said slowly. “I, er … I’m a friend of Caroline’s. I haven’t heard from her, and I was wondering if she was okay?”

“Not really,” the Sheriff said. “I don’t think now’s a good time.”

“Now’s as good a time as any, mom.”

Stefan tried to peer around the Sheriff, and into the dark hallway beyond. He could just make out the shape of Caroline, stood in what looked like pyjamas.

“Hey, Care,” he called out when her mom didn’t move. “Are you okay?”

“Mom,” Caroline said shortly.

Reluctantly, the Sheriff stepped aside. Stefan walked carefully inside, almost scared at what awaited him. But he couldn’t really see anything – the corridor was too dark. Caroline gestured for him to follow her, and they traipsed into the kitchen, where he could actually see.

Caroline looked awful. She was in her pyjamas, her hair thrown carelessly on top of her head. She was the least put together he had yet to see her. And when she turned around to face him-

“What the hell happened?”

In an angry rush to get the words out, Stefan almost choked. One side of her face was covered in a large, purpling bruise. Her lip was bust, and there was a scar across her chin.

Caroline looked close to tears. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to get the words out. “I can’t-“

“Tyler Lockwood is what happened,” the Sheriff finished, storming into the kitchen. There was a slight physical resemblance to the two – the blonde hair, the eyes, the set of the jaw. But it was the physical presence that was the most similar; the way in which they both seemed to do everything all at once, and with such energy. “Carol will not hear the last of this. Trying to control the whole town, when she can’t even control her own _son_. He beat my daughter. If it was up to me, it would be the death penalty.”

“Mom,” Caroline complained, but she looked slightly touched. “I just … I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Well I do,” the Sheriff insisted. “That boy – I always knew he was trouble. After Matt, I hoped he would have been better. But the two of them were always thick as thieves. Obviously they would be the same.”

Caroline buried her head in her hands. Something clicked in Stefan’s mind.

“Wait,” he said slowly. “Matt … I thought Matt was a really good person?”

“The hell he was,” Liz spat. “Oh, he was cute and sweet and he helped old ladies cross the sidewalk. But did he give a damn about my daughter? Did he date her for years, and hit her every day, and she’d still go back to him because he had daddy issues?”

“He had anger issues,” Caroline protested lamely, looking up with a sniff. “It wasn’t his fault.”

“And so does Tyler Lockwood,” Liz pointed out. “It’s no excuse for hitting someone, never mind when it’s your girlfriend.” She turned to Stefan with a glare, as though it was his fault. “She went over there to break up with him, because everyone knows he’s been sleeping with Vicki Donovan for months. And do you know what he did? He punched her in the face, kicked her in the stomach and left her for dead.”

“Caroline,” Stefan gaped, turning to her. “Caroline, has this happened before?”

“Not with Tyler,” she said quietly. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “He got angry, but never actually touched me.”

“This is awful,” Stefan said. “Do Bonnie and Elena know?”

“No,” Caroline said quickly. “And they can’t. I don’t want anyone to think bad of Matt – he’s dead. And Tyler is working through some stuff.”

“Oh, they’ll know about Tyler, alright,” the Sheriff said spitefully. “That boy will be publicly shamed, I promise you.”

Caroline surged forwards suddenly, and gripped her mother in a tight hug. Stefan looked away, then decided he had probably already outstayed his welcome. He climbed to his feet. Noticing, Caroline broke away, wiping tears from her cheeks.

“Stefan,” she said, as though just remembering he was there. “Could you … could you stay with me please? Just for today.”

Stefan nodded and gave her a smile. “Of course,” he said.

“I’m off out to work,” the Sheriff said. “Someone’s gotta put that boy behind bars.” She gave Stefan a warning glare and then left swiftly.

Caroline turned to him with half a smile, then quickly burst into tears. Stefan gathered her in his arms and held her close. She sobbed into his chest for a long time, her tears dampening his shirt, but he didn’t mind. He felt stupid. For letting her stay with Tyler, for not noticing the signs, for not getting in touch earlier.

Finally, Caroline withdrew from his arms. She looked all cried out. “Take me somewhere?” she begged. “I just want to sit and … well, I want to talk to you. About not-Tyler.”

“Not-Tyler it is,” Stefan assured her. “Let’s go.”

He drove her to the falls once she was changed, and they sat at the bottom, watching them cascade down from above. Caroline closed her eyes against the spray and breathed deep.

“Are you excited for Saturday night?” Stefan asked.

“I’m not going,” Caroline said without opening her eyes.

Stefan almost fell off the rock he was sat on. “What?” he exclaimed. “You can’t _not go_. Look at all we did to get here! Come on, Care. It’s your prom.”

Caroline opened her eyes, but didn’t look at him. “I don’t feel like going anymore. Everyone will be watching me, and they’ll know, and they’ll be judging me. My face…” She cleared her throat suddenly. “My date’s behind bars anyway.”

“Go with me,” Stefan said suddenly.

Caroline stared at him as though he was crazy. “What the hell? No! You have a girlfriend!”

Stefan tried hard not to be offended. “I never asked her to go with me,” he admitted. “I was waiting for – well, I don’t know. But I saw Damon brushing off his suit the other day, and I know they’re close. I’m going to break up with her, and tell her it’s okay if she goes with him.”

Caroline ran a hand over her face. “Everything’s gone to hell,” she moaned.

Stefan got on his knees in front of her. She looked at him as though he had gone insane. “Come to prom with me, Caroline Forbes. Please. There’s no one else I’d rather go with.”

Caroline blinked down at him. “You’re sure?”

“Dead certain,” he promised. “Scout’s honour.”

A smile fought its way onto her face. “Stefan Salvatore actually _wanting_ to go to prom,” she tutted. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“For you,” he said. “I’d do anything.” He was surprised at how much he actually meant it.

“Fine,” Caroline conceded. “But only if … you get me a corsage.”

Stefan pulled a face.

“And it has to match my dress,” she added quickly. “Go for something pale. Creamy.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Can I get up off the floor now?”

Caroline grinned. “Fine.”

* * *

Prom day rolled around too quickly. Stefan was far too nervous. Not about Elena – he had broken up with her almost as soon as he had asked Caroline to prom, and she hadn’t been exactly heartbroken. It was the happiest he had seen Damon in a long time. For some reason, even though he told himself there was nothing between him and Caroline, every time he thought about her, or dancing with her, his palms got sweaty.

“You’re clearly in love with her, brother,” Damon said one day, offering the first bout of brotherly advice he had ever given. “Cut to the chase and tell her.”

“It’s not that easy,” Stefan said, forgetting to protest that he didn’t feel that way. Because, he realised with stunning clarity, he really did. She had been his confidante, his aid and best friend. Every time he looked at her, he was amazed at her light and beauty and kindness. Maybe it wasn’t love yet, but it was certainly building up to be something.

“I heard what the pile of crap ex-boyfriend did to her,” Damon said. “But she’s basically in love with you too. She looks at you like you hung the moon or something.”

“Very romantic,” Stefan laughed. “Elena’s turning you into a sap.”

Damon hit him around the back of the head. “I’m telling you. Don’t be an idiot.”

_Don’t be an idiot. You’re clearly in love with her. She’s basically in love with you too._ None of the words brought him any kind of comfort. In fact, anytime he thought about them (which was constantly) he just sweated even more. He could barely look Caroline in the face for fear that she’d read his mind or something.

Too suddenly, Stefan was stood outside Caroline’s house again. This time, he was dressed in a tux with a corsage clutched tightly in his hand. He took a deep breath, ensured his hair was still gelled back, and knocked quickly on the door before he could get cold feet.

Liz answered. She looked Stefan up and down and folded her arms. “I want to make sure your intentions-“

“Mom!” a distant voice yelled from inside the house. “Stop scaring Stefan off!”

Liz rolled her eyes and let him inside. They stood on opposite sides of the hall and said nothing to each other. The clock on the wall seemed to be ticking exceptionally loudly.

“Okay,” Caroline’s voice said. “I’m coming down. Just – please no one laugh.”

Stefan wondered why the hell anyone would laugh at such a beautiful sight. Caroline descended the stairs carefully in her heels and then smiled gently at them both once she reached the bottom. “How do I look?” she asked nervously.

Liz started to cry. Stefan was caught off guard and sent Caroline a helpless look. She looked just as alarmed.

“Mom?” she said. “Are you … okay?”

“You look so beautiful,” Liz gasped between sobs. She dabbed at her eyes with the hem of her shirt. “So, so beautiful. Caroline …”

“You look amazing,” Stefan finished when he had finally closed his mouth. “Seriously.”

And she did. In a gown of deep red, with a sweetheart neckline and her hair gathered in messy curls at the nape of her neck, she looked a vision of beauty. Stefan presented her with the pale pink corsage and she smiled wider.

“It’s perfect,” she sighed. “Tie it on my wrist?”

He did so carefully. Liz disappeared for a moment, and reappeared with a camera. She led them outside and took a couple, being careful not to cry the whole time.

“Just so you know,” she said in a watery voice, just as they were about to climb into Stefan’s car. “I don’t … I never approved of the law. About the ban on dancing. I just … all I could think of was Matt Donovan, who I thought was a good kid, and you were in mourning – I just … if you take it up in the council, I want you to know you’ll have my backing.”

Caroline kissed her mother on her cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “It means a lot.”

“Go,” her mom insisted, wiping a tear. “You don’t want to be late because of your mother.”

The marquee next to the falls, under the stars, was an amazing idea. Fairy lights were strung across the marquee and nearby trees, the area was buzzing with people and there was music blasting. After such a long time of silence, it was beautiful. Even if it was ABBA.

Damon and Elena were already dancing, and Bonnie was trying not to be charmed by the exchange student Enzo. Vicki, even though she was technically too old to be there, was slow-dancing with Jeremy, not a joint in sight. Stefan turned to Caroline, who was staring at everything with a large grin.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it.”

Stefan took her to thank the teachers and parents who had made it happen, and then they wandered to the food table. Finally, Stefan asked something he had been waiting for since the moment he had wandered into Mystic Falls and met Caroline Forbes.

“Dance with me?”

Caroline beamed. “It would be my pleasure.”

And then Bon Jovi interrupted the slow song. Stefan’s face lit up. Caroline’s screwed up in disappointment.

“Bon Jovi is the greatest,” Stefan insisted, dragging her forward. “Come on, Care.”

She stuck her tongue out. “Fine,” she conceded. “But, you know, it’s been a long time since I did any dancing.”

She was a natural, just as he had thought. Even with her large dress obscuring the way, she managed to make every move so graceful and energetic at the same. They danced and sang around each other until a slow song came on, and she collapsed into his arms.

“This is nice,” she said after a while of swaying. “Dancing under the stars.”

“It’s a beautiful night,” Stefan agreed. “All thanks to you really.”

Caroline looked personally affronted. “Me? Are you kidding? If you hadn’t walked into this hell hole of a town in the first place, we would never have been standing here.”

“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” Stefan laughed. “I wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be dancing right now. I would never have met you, which would have been a very big travesty.”

Caroline stopped swaying very suddenly. “Stefan,” she said in her no-nonsense way. “I think I want you to kiss me.”

He did.

* * *

“Caroline Forbes and Stefan Salvatore. You are the grossest couple to ever exist.”

Caroline stuck her tongue out at Bonnie. “Shut up. As if you and Enzo aren’t down each other’s’ throats constantly.”

“That is _not_ what I meant,” Bonnie sighed. The four of them – Bonnie, Caroline, Stefan and Elena – were led across Caroline’s front lawn, basking in the sunlight and putting the finishing touches to their case. “I meant that you’re the sort of couple who are gonna grow old together. You’re so sickeningly cute that I can barely stand to look at you.”

“I take that as the highest compliment,” Caroline said. “And I take back my earlier comment.”

“Very gracious of you,” Bonnie laughed. “We all set for tomorrow? Enzo won’t stop calling me. He’s clingy as hell.”

“You liiiiiike him,” Caroline teased, then rolled out of the way to avoid Bonnie’s fist. “Bon!” she laughed. “Yes, we release you. Go find your Prince Charming.”

“He’s a far shout from a prince,” Stefan snorted. “The evil wizard, maybe.”

Bonnie feigned offence and flounced down the street to her car. Elena climbed to her feet, gathered her things and waved a goodbye too.

“Just the two of us,” Stefan sang. “You want to pack in for the day? We could go watch the sunset somewhere?”

Caroline shrugged. “I’m worried it won’t be enough.”

“So?” Stefan said, surprising even himself. It had been the thing he had worked on for months; the thing he had instigated, and thought so important. “It won’t matter. It can’t stop us anymore.”

“Why are you so flippant about it now?” Caroline wondered. “It’s like … not that you don’t care, but like you already achieved what you wanted. With prom and stuff.”

Stefan knew exactly what his problem was. Damon had told him earlier, when he saw him throw a load of stuff to do with the case away. “The problem you wanted to sort wasn’t the dance ban,” he had explained. “You wanted to date Caroline, and now you’re doing that, this isn’t so important. As cheesy as it sounds, you have her so nothing else matters.” Damon was very unfortunately right. Stefan had a sneaking suspicion that the only reason he had started this battle in the first place was to get close to Caroline and win her favour by making prom legal again. Now that he had given her a prom, he wasn’t so bothered.

“I suppose I realised something,” he said, ignoring what his brain was thinking. “I was trying to work on something to distract myself from my mom. And now … it’s not so much of a problem. The prom was our victory. It doesn’t matter if we win or not. We did something, we worked for something and we achieved something. You know? We inspired people to work for it, so it doesn’t matter if we fail. Enough people know now they can go against it and win. If we fail, they won’t.”

Caroline thought about it for a second. “I suppose,” she said, then turned to him with a sly grin. “How about we watch a film instead of going out? I have ice cream. We should relax before tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Stefan agreed, jumped to his feet, then offered his hand to her. “Shall we?”

* * *

They won.

“We won!” Caroline squealed.

Stefan snatched her up into a victory hug. He hadn’t realised there was a knot of anxiety in his stomach over the case until he felt it loosen. Caroline was crying into his shoulder. The room around them was erupting into cheers as the laws were disbanded. He felt an awesome sense of elation that he hoped would never fade.

“We did it!” Caroline exclaimed, and kissed him soundly.

There was a celebratory party after, at the Mystic Grill. Everyone was there, from the Sheriff to Mr Saltzman, and everyone seemed to want to congratulate him, even though he tried to insist he didn’t do it alone. Every time he said that, though, Caroline interjected that it was all his idea and he was just too modest to admit he was the saviour of the town.

Eventually, Stefan led Caroline to the dancefloor. They danced, with Damon and Elena and Bonnie and Enzo and Jeremy and Vicki, until they could no longer feel their feet. As the sun was setting, Stefan drove Caroline to the top of the falls and they watched the light disappear.

“Do you know,” he said quietly. “I think I realised how I felt about you that first time we watched the sun set together. When I drove you home from cheer practice.”

Caroline blushed hard. “You sop,” she laughed, lifting his arm over her shoulders and burrowing into his chest. “I think I realised from, like, the moment I met you.”

Stefan blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Caroline grinned. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice. I was totally obvious. Couldn’t do anything about it, because of Tyler and Elena, obviously. But I thought you were like … the hottest guy ever.”

Stefan raised an eyebrow. “That’s all I am to you?”

“A chunky piece of meat,” Caroline joked and hugged him tighter. “Stefan? I … I like you a lot.”

Stefan smiled to himself and watched the last light of day disappear behind Mystic Falls. “I like you a lot, too.”

* * *

Fin. Hallelujah.

**Author's Note:**

> p.s. please note that Steroline are literally always dancing in canon, which is probs also where this idea came from. And the marquee is a tribute to their first dance (at that Lockwood party) and their first dance at their wedding. So there we go.


End file.
